During my one-on-one workshop with sweet Beth from Local Milk, I sought direction on my blog, how to achieve my goals as a photographer and blogger and to better understand what my brand is and what I want it to be. I left with so many thoughts, ideas and I can’t say I am 100% sure what I want to do (who does!?), I certainly left with a clearer understanding of what I want my blog to be. A while back I kind of abandoned posting about the food I actually eat, in favour of selecting foods that were pretty to photograph. Honestly, this is largely because it’s easier to make a pretty cake, pop a flower on it and call it a day. However, I have grown a bit tired of developing recipes for food that I am not largely passionate about. I do love to bake, but I also love to make vibrant, fresh and exciting salads. They’re harder to style, but it’s what I eat.

I have always enjoyed the challenge of making healthier versions of gluttonous foods, but don’t worry, I still definitely enjoy a good old fashioned cheesecake from time to time too. So….. in summary, I am going to spend a bit more time and creative energy in developing recipes and photographing food that I actually have a connection to and that I would serve my family regularly.

My husband likes me to make him a healthy treat he can munch on at work, and after seeing a similar recipe posted by a friend who owns an organic shop in Orange, I just had to give them a go. I used spelt flour because that’s what was in my cupboard and I love how they turned out. I’ve used stevia and honey to sweeten but you could use agave or maple syrup in lieu. The crumble topping is a lovely addition to the muffins and if you don’t mind a bit of the naughty stuff, I highly suggest a light dusting of icing sugar to finish them off.

I hope you enjoy this recipe and i’d love to know what you think.

Don’t forget to hashtag #cookwiththemacadames when making my recipes. I love to see how you went and get a peek at your kitchen table.

Ingredients (makes 12):

For the muffins:

300g apple, roughly grated

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup honey or maple syrup

3 eggs

1/4 cup yoghurt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon liquid stevia or to taste

300g spelt flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

200g fresh or frozen (thawed) berries

To serve: icing sugar

For the crumble:

70g coconut butter, melted

70g walnuts, roughly chopped

150g rolled oats

3 tablespoons spelt flour

1/4 cup honey or maple syrup

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Method:

1. To make the muffin batter: Preheat oven to 175°C. In a large bowl, mix together the apple, olive oil, honey/maple, eggs, vanilla extract and stevia until well combined. Add the spelt flour and baking powder and mix until combined. Stir through the berries (make sure they are thawed) gently. Set aside.

2. To make the crumble: In a medium bowl, use your hands to mix together the crumble ingredients until combined.

3. To make the muffins: spoon out (or use an ice cream scoop) muffin batter into 12 prepared muffin patties in a muffin tray. Top with crumble and pop into the oven to bake for 45 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Dust with icing sugar and serve warm or cool.

Storage: muffins will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.